Auditing of public programs as viewed by the public accounting profession;

Page 1

AUDITING OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS AS VIEWED BY THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
by Fred M. Oliver
Partner, Salt Lake City Office
Presented before the National Legislative Conference, Minne­apolis—
August 1971
AUDITING OF PUBLIC PROGRAMS AS VIEWED BY THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
A President of the United States once made this profound observa­tion:
"Power and strict accountability for its use are the essential constitu­ents
of good government."1 This meaningful statement strikes a vital chord with all citizens concerned with responsible government. It should also be of deep and significant interest to each of us here today, whose day to day tasks and responsibilities are focused almost wholly upon the determination of stewardship and accountability of governmental officials in a great variety of capacities and functions. Indeed, the governmental legislative or internal auditor and the independent certified public accountant engaged to perform auditing services in the governmental field comprise almost the exclusive group on which the broad public depends for a continuing determination of "strict accountability."
TRENDS IN GOVERNMENTAL SPENDING
The importance of accountability in government has taken on new dimensions in recent years with the highly accelerated growth in public spending at all levels of government. One third of this Nation's gross national product is now comprised of spending in the total public sector. Thus, the inroads upon our basic system of free enterprise have been swift and massive in recent years; even more alarming is the prospect that this trend will accelerate, not slow down. Consider these statistics:
• Federal Spending The Federal budget, under its present mode of accounting, showed total outlays in 1960 of $92.2 billion. By fiscal 1968, total outlays
1 Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government (New York: Meridian Books, 1956),
p. 187.